


Trapped in a Hero's Shadow

by AnnoyingQuiche



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), the romance is not super important to the plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28042593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnoyingQuiche/pseuds/AnnoyingQuiche
Summary: Link thought this would be a fun game to test his strength and win some prizes. He didn't expect for it to put his life in danger, or even make him face a demon made of shadows.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 6





	Trapped in a Hero's Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> I've been toying with this idea for a bit and I just had to write it down. I hope you enjoy the fic! Feedback is greatly appreciated!

The shadow was relentless. It swung its sword in hasty motions, giving Link very little time to block or counter the blows. It manifested bombs and arrows out of seemingly nowhere. Link had been unfortunate enough to get caught in the blast radius of one of those bombs; he learned his lesson about staying away when the shadow prepared to throw one. Link had soot covering parts of his face and clothes. Those bombs made him feel like his skin was burning. Arrows were fortunately a smaller problem. It was much harder to hit a moving target than a still one after all. As long as Link kept moving, those arrows would fly past his ears. The arrows were so close to his head that Link could hear them zip past his ears. It was miracle he hadn't been shot. 

It was the shadow's swordsmanship that gave Link the most trouble. It was like the demon already knew what Link was planning to do. Nearly every swing of his sword was deflected by the shadow. Its sword made cuts on his upper arms that stained his green tunic a dark shade of red. Link was just thankful the shadow hadn't gotten a good hit on him yet. 

In an empty chamber, locked away from the outside world, two enemies clashed swords. The sound of metal was deafening to both of them; they were fighting for their lives after all. Their swords were locked, each one of them putting all of their weight behind it, hoping their adversary would lose balance and reveal an opening. Link felt like the shadow was staring into his soul. He thought it was uncanny how similar their eyes looked. 

Link knew he couldn't let himself be defeated here of all places. He refused to let himself fail this test of strength. He pushed himself harder even though the cuts on his arms stung and he felt painfully sore from all the hits he had taken. He let out a shout as he threw his opponent off balance by shifting his weight. He struck the shadow as fast as he could. Link's sword slashed at its chest, leaving no wound. The only way Link could tell the shadow was injured was because it had become lighter in color and more transparent. He could have swore he heard his opponent let out - or at least try to let out - a cry of pain. It was a faint noise. Link decided to ignore it. Many of the monsters he had fought did the same thing. What bothered Link was how human it sounded; it sounded similar to his own voice. 

The shadow summoned a bomb and prepared to launch it at Link, but Link was ready for it, he had learned the attack pattern of his foe. He rolled out of the way at the last second and managed to dodge the blast. He could feel heat radiating from where the explosion had been. He noticed that the shadow left its guard down right after it threw a bomb and took his chance. He charged at the shadow and slashed it with his sword again. It let out a weak noise and became lighter in color, its physical form continued to fade. The shadow seemed to know who would win this fight. 

The shadow fought disparately. It threw more bombs and shot more arrows. The blows from its sword became quicker and more sloppy. Link did his best to stay calm and continued to fight. The shadow continued to land hits on Link. The number of cuts on the Hylian's body grew as the battle went on. Every step he took made pain shoot up through his legs. Yet, he pressed forward, refusing to let up. 

Then, the shadow did something Link didn't expect. It preformed a devastating great spin attack. Link threw himself onto the floor to avoid being cut into two. When the attack ended Link expected the shadow to be stunned, rendered dizzy from spinning so much, instead, it raised its sword and jumped to where Link was. His legs moved faster than his mind as he leaped away from where he was crouching. The shadow's sword was where his neck once was. 

The fight went on. Link landed hit after hit onto the shadow, wondering when it would finally drop dead. The shadow kept growing fainter and more desperate. Its attacks became more reckless and unpredictable and its voice more mangled. Link hated how the shadow looked so much like him. Everything about the shadow was so similar to Link. From the way it carried itself, to the way it looked, there wasn't any doubt in his mind: this was his shadow. He just couldn't understand why it was here of all places and why it was attacking him. 

The shadow's movements were becoming even more erratic, and that would be its undoing. The shadow raised its sword once more and slashed at Link several times. Each strike hit Link's shield, the Shield of Antiquity, which he had received from Niko. Link saw a chance for an opening and he took it. He blocked the shadow's sword with his own and parried it. Its eyes widened with surprise and fear. Link struck as quickly as he could. He swung his sword, this time however, it created a deep gash across the demon's chest. The wound quickly began gushing blood.

The shadow gasped for breath as its knees buckled and it fell to the ground. Link watched as the shadow laid on the floor and quickly bled out, its body trembling as its life drained away. The floor where the demon lay was covered in a puddle of dark red blood that stained everything it touched. Its chest was still rising and falling, if only barely. The shadow hung on for dear life, but it had no chance of surviving a blow that severe. Link watched as the shadow's eyes became duller and stopped moving. Its body, along with all of the blood on the floor, finally disintegrated into magenta colored smoke. 

Link let out a sigh of relief. It was the hardest battle he had fought up to this point. The pain in his arms and legs became more apparent as the adrenaline wore off. He looked backed at the entrance of the chamber and was met with the sight of a light blue portal. It was near the entrance of the chamber - from where Link was standing it appeared to be to the left of the entrance. He knew from experience that this would finally get him out of here. He walked towards the entrance slowly, his legs aching with every step. As he stepped into the portal, he wondered how he would explain this ordeal to Zelda. He didn't want her to worry too much, she already had enough going on at the moment. Link's vision was consumed by a while light and he was back at the entrance of the building. 

"You mean you cleared out level three, too?" asked Joynas, the owner of the minigame.

"Nice job, Link!" Zelda congratulated him. Her ghostly form seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, "I wish I could have been there. You aren't hurt to badly are you?"

Link felt a bit disoriented after teleporting. The cuts on his arms and legs burned even more than before. He cleared his thoughts and answered Joynas' question with a nod. He quickly signed to Zelda, **I'm fine.**

"Even I couldn't do that," she sounded proud of Link, "And I made the place! You had a pretty good time for this level. Nice going! Here's your prize this time. Hope you like it!" Joynas took a shiny, gold coin out of her pocket and gave it to Link. 

"I bet you could get quite a few rupees for that," Zelda commented, only being heard by Link.

He took the coin in his hand and examined it. It was an ancient gold piece. Holding the coin brought back feelings of nostalgia for a time Link didn't remember. He opened the pouch attached to his belt and dropped the coin inside. He turned to leave the place when he remembered a question he wanted to ask, "Excuse me, ma'am," Link spoke in a quiet voice. 

"Yes? What is it?" Joynas responded. 

"You said you built this place yourself, right?" Link asked. 

"That's right, it took a lot of work and some magic, but I did it," she admitted, "I think I did I pretty good job with this place," Joynas placed her hands on her hips. 

"How did you get that shadow demon in there?" Link wondered. 

"Shadow demon? I have no idea what you're talking about," Joynas answered, "You sure your eyes didn't play a trick on you."

_I don't think a trick of the light would try to kill me,_ Link thought, "Are you sure there wasn't a shadow demon?" he refused to believe that the shadow he fought was just a product of his imagination. 

"Kid, I made this place. If there was a shadow demon in there, I would know. Besides, those things are way too dangerous," she sounded amused by Link's question. 

"Link, what's going on?" Zelda asked. Her voice was full of concern. 

"If you say so...maybe it was just my eyes," Link responded to Joynas, not believing a single word that he said to her. **I'll tell you what really happened later** , he quickly signed to Zelda. He knew she would want to hear about this. 

"What's with the hand motions, kid?" Joynas asked humorously. 

"I just - it's nothing," Link lied. 

~~~

"You were attacked by a shadow as well? A shadow that looked like you?" Zelda asked, her voice was full of concern. Her hands were folded in front of her chest. 

Link had told Zelda about the other monsters he had faced in this supposed game, and yet this was the one Zelda seemed the most interested in. Both of them agreed that it was strange Link had to fight the beasts he had already defeated. He thought he had seen the last of all the scourges hidden deep inside the temples. Link thought that whatever magic Joynas used on the place made it so that whoever was playing the minigame, if you could call something that dangerous a minigame, would have to face their old foes. 

"I don't think this was just any old game you played," Zelda went on, her ghostly form glowed, providing them with a small amount light as they rested in Aboda Village on Link's train. She began to float upwards deep in thought.

**Clearly** , Link signed. He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out why that shadow had been there. 

"She said she had used some kind of magic to make the place, no? I think the test of strength was meant to draw upon your memories in order to make a challenge that would be difficult, but still possible for you to complete," Zelda proposed, "...but that still wouldn't explain the shadow," she turned her head away from Link and looked through the windows of the train. They were both in the car meant for passengers, "It's dark out. You should try and get some sleep. We have to go to the Tower of Spirits again tomorrow and potions can only do so much for your wounds if you don't rest."

**You're right** , Link's hand froze for a moment as he wondered if he should tell Zelda more details about the shadow. He decided against it, it would only make her worry more and he would rather not have to relive the fight, "Good night, Zelda," he said quietly. He laid down in one of the seats in the passenger car and pulled a blanket over himself. He closed his eyes and waited for a peaceful sleep to arrive. 

When sleep eventually came to Link, it was anything but peaceful. Link would describe the nightmares he had that night as horrific, even though he couldn't even remember what happened in them, much less why he woke up screaming and struggling to breathe. Link assured Zelda that he was fine. They were in the final stretch of their quest now. He wouldn't stop now just because of a night of restless sleep. The Compass of Light was waiting for them and so was Malladus. 

**Author's Note:**

> Do I have a ton of school work? Yes. Do I have another fic I need to finish? Yes. If this doesn't update for a while, I am sorry. I might go back an edit this chapter in the future; I'll leave a note on future chapter if I do though.


End file.
